System.Type

Summary

Represents type declarations of code objects that make up a program. This is the base class for all type declarations, and is used to represent classes, interfaces, arrays, value types, enumerated types, type parameters, generic type definitions, and open or closed constructed generic types.

Inheritance

System.Object → System.Type

Remarks

The Type class provides information about the type, such as its members (methods, properties, fields, events), its attributes, and its base type. It is a fundamental part of reflection in .NET, allowing you to inspect and manipulate code at runtime.

You can obtain a Type object in several ways:

• Using the typeof operator (e.g., typeof(string)).
• Using the GetType() method on an object instance (e.g., myObject.GetType()).
• Using the Type.GetType(string) method, which takes a fully qualified type name.

Members

The System.Type class has many members that provide access to type information and functionality. Below are some of the most commonly used ones.

Example Usage

using System;
using System.Reflection;

public class Example
{
    public static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        // Get the Type of a string
        Type stringType = typeof(string);
        Console.WriteLine($"Type Name: {stringType.Name}");
        Console.WriteLine($"Full Name: {stringType.FullName}");
        Console.WriteLine($"Namespace: {stringType.Namespace}");
        Console.WriteLine($"Is Public: {stringType.IsPublic}");
        Console.WriteLine($"Is Class: {stringType.IsClass}");
        Console.WriteLine($"Base Type: {stringType.BaseType?.Name}"); // Nullable for Object

        Console.WriteLine("\n--- Public Methods ---");
        MethodInfo[] methods = stringType.GetMethods();
        foreach (var method in methods.Take(5)) // Show first 5 for brevity
        {
            Console.WriteLine($"- {method.Name}");
        }

        // Get the Type of an object instance
        int number = 123;
        Type intType = number.GetType();
        Console.WriteLine($"\nType of integer instance: {intType.FullName}");

        // Get a Type by name (requires fully qualified name including assembly)
        // Type listType = Type.GetType("System.Collections.Generic.List`1, System.Private.CoreLib");
        // if (listType != null && listType.IsGenericTypeDefinition)
        // {
        //     Console.WriteLine("\nSuccessfully found List generic definition.");
        // }
    }
}